Three-wheel road roller



NPV- 3, 1925 w. 1'.l BEATTY E1' AL.

THREE-WHEEL ROAD ROLLER und on. 11. 1922 Nov. 3 1925.

W. T. BEATTY ET AI.

'runas-WHEEL non ROLLER Filed Deo. 11, 1922 5 Shoots-Shoot 2 Nov. 3,1925. 1,559,542

W. T. BEATTY El' AL THREE-WHEEL ROAD ROLLER 5 ShOBtB-Sh 3 Filed Dec. 11, 1922 ov 1925 w. 1'. BEA-rn' Erm. 1559'542 THREE-WHEEL ROAD ROLLER nud non'. 11, 1922 s shun-sun: 4

I HW

Nov. 3, 1925.

w. T. BEllY ETAI- 'runs-wuasx. now nomma Filed Dec. 11, 1922 5 ShOOtl-Shi 5 Patented Nov. 3, .1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAIYI T. BEATTY, OF FLOSSMOOR, AND FRANK S. DAVIS, OF HOMEWOOD, ILLINOIS, SAID DAVIS ASSIGNOR TO AUSTIN MANUFACTURING CO., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

THREE-WHEEL ROAD ROLLER.

Application led December 11, 1922. Serial No. 606,184.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that we, IVILLIAM T. BEATTY and FRANK S. DAVIS, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Flossmoor and Homewood, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Three- IVheel Road Rollers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to road rollers, and particularly to those of the three wheeled type in which, by the proper disposition of three rollers, one in the front and two at the rear of the machine, a maximum of l5 road surface width is covered by a minimum aggregate length of rollers in the machine,

thereby reducing the weight and consequent cost of the device. The object of the invention is to provide a structure of this class, 2U in which the engine case or power plant body, used in propelling the roller, forms the major part of the connection between -the front and rear rollers, thereby doing away with the formal frame used in prior constructions and so greatly reducing the weight of material and work required in producing the device, with corresponding roduction in cost.

A more specific object of the device is to provide an attachment by which the front wheels of engine driven tractors now on the market, exemplified most largely-but not eXclusively-by the Fordson tractor, may be removed and a single roller substituted, thereby converting such commercial tractor into a three wheel roller with the minimum of expense.

The invention consists in means for attaining the foregoing and other* objects, which can be easily and comparatively cheaply made, is very satisfactory in use, and is not readily liable to get out of order. The invention further consists in many features and details of construction which will be hereafter more fully set forth in the specification and claims. y

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals designate the Same parts throughont the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, Figure 2 a plan view, and Figure 3 an end elevation,

the latter with certain parts broken away, illustrating the apparatus of this invention in its preferred form.

Figure 4 is a central, sectional, enlarged detail view on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

F igure 5 is a plan detail view on the line 5 5 of Figure 4.

Figurc' is an end detail view on the irregular line 6 6 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a perspectiveaof the crank end of the engine case, certain cover parts being removed.

Figure 8 is a perspective showing the interior of the rear end of the special frame forming one of the essential features of the invention.

In the specific embodiment of the in-vention, shown in the drawings, the rear axle 14, transmission case 16, drivers seat 18, the entire engine frame or case 20, the manifold 22, its discharge pipe 24, the water tank 26, the radiator 28, and associated parts are the conventional power plant mechanism of a tractor well known in the market, specifically known as the Fordson,'fhere used for conventional illustration only, the ordinary wheels of the commercial tractor having been removed and a broad rear roller 30 substituted for each wheel.

In the particular case here illustrated, the front wheels and steering mechanism therefor of the commercial tractor have been entirely removed from the parts thus far described and replaced by special fra-me 32, taking the place of the normal cover for gears 34-36, and detachably secured in place by bolts 38 entering the same holes 40 in the engine frame 20, originally provided for securing the initial gear case or cover plate (not shown) in position at the point indicated. This special frame 32 is hollow and in plan view ofgenerallytriangular construction (Figure 2), terminating at its forward end in a vertical bearing 42, carrying t-hc vertical steering Shaft 44. Conventionally on the lower end of this shaft 44 is a V.block 46, carrying a horizontal bolt or shaft 48, on which is rockably mounted the inverted U-shaped frame 50, enclosing the front roller 52, journaled on shaft 54.

The only special requirement about the roller 52 is that it be as shownlocated in the central axis of the machineand that its total length crosse-wise of the machine, j

.as the machine passes along the road, the

entire road area-included between the op*- posite outside edges of the ro`llers -is engaged by some one of thethree rollers 30- 52-30.

Rigidly attached to the upper end of shaft 44by any suitable means, as, for instance, the bolt 56, is a segmental gear 58, engaged by a worm 60, suitably journaled in a bracket 62, rising from and secured to the frame 32 by any suitable means, asf-for instance-the bolts 6466. Rigid with this worm 60 is a beveled pinion 68 meshing with a beveled gear 70 on a suitable shaft 72 leading to a steering wheel 74 located conveniently to the drive-rs seat 18, these parts in the reconstruction of thecommercial tractor referred to being supplied in place of the normal tractor steering device:-

f operation of this part of the device, the

occupant of seat 18 merely 'turns wheel 74 in either direction, as desired, to cause the gearing mechanism described to rock the roller 52.

In the ordinary commercial operation of a power driven tractor, the motion is always continuously forward )und therefore very little harm comes from discharging the waste gases of th`e engine of the power plant either close to the ground adjacent to the operator or elsewhere, as mechanical reasons may dictate, but in the case of a road roller, the movement is generally forward and backward for short distances with the result that in order to avoid poisoning the operator, the fumes from the engine must be discharged into the air as far from, and as high above the o erator as can conveniently be accomplished). In this invention, this situation is taken care of by installing a smoke stack 76, supported by the frame 32, immediately behind the bracket 62, vthe same being supported upon a cross-bar 78 of the frame immediately below the bracket 62, and another cross-bar 80 (Figure 2). The manifold discharge pipe 24 is coupled at 82 to a pipe 84, terminating in a conventional mufller 86, located at the base of theV stack 76.

The machine is provided with a canopy 88, supported in any conventional manner adjacent to the stack 76, extending over the seat 18 to assist in keeping the fumes, delivered from the stack 76, from the operator, as well as for other conventional protective purposes.

The special frame 32 inclines downward In the y ber adapted for the reception and protection of the lower end of the radiator 28 and the cranking mechanism hereafter 'described.

The rear wall 32a of the frame 32 has cast in it the gear case cover 92, replacing the normal cover provided inthe conventional tractor for Vthe'gears Sli-36. It also carries an integral pipe 94, supported on a cross-bar 96 of the frame, adapted when the parts are assembled to connect the lower end of the radiator 28 to the conventional water passage 98 of the engine.

Most conventional tractors of the class to which this invention is especially applicable have longitudinal crank shafts 100 which it is necessary to manually rotate on starting the engine. into a three wheel roller, it is necessary that the frame 32, and the front roller or its equivalent, so obstruct access to the end of such a shaft that direct cranking in the ordinary manner at the front end of the crank shaft is impossible and one of the problems solved by this invention is to crank an engine ot'this.class on the side of the machine after-conversion of the device into a three wheeled tractor. In the particular case here illustrated, this is accomplished by mounting. on the cross-member 96 a bearing 102 in which is journaled a beveled gear 104, throu h which slides a spline shaft y106 (Figure 4% in `alignment with vshaft 100, having on its end, adjacent to the crank shaft, the conventional ratchet member 108 interfitting with the conventional serrated end 110 of shaft 100. Shaft 106 is provided with two parallel separated circumferential" notchesI112-114, adapted to be selectively engaged by a spring latch 116, designed to hold ratchet member 108 in engagement with ratchet member 110, or clear thereof (as shown in Figure 4) as the case may be. This shaft 106 is reciprocatable between these two positions just described by manual manipulation from outside the case of lever 118, conventionally pivoted on a suitable bracket and suitably engaging the shaft through oppositely disposed pins 122 enteringa conventional annular recess 124 provided for the purpose. Gear 104 meshes with another gear 126 on a suitably journaled shaft 128, manipulatable outside the frame 32 and adjacent to the lever 118 by a crank 130 of conventional form.

In the operation of this mechanism just described, assuming the parts are in the position of Figures 4 and 5, the operator rocks lever 118 in a counter clock-wise direction, thereby pushing shaft 106 to the left until the spring 116 clicks into notch 114. In

lil!) casting this position, the clutch mechanism S-.110 is in operative relation and all the operator has to do is to then turn crank 130 as many revolutions as may be necessary to cause the engine to fire in the ordinary manner. As soon as this occurs, the ratchet teeth of ratchet member 110 click over the member 108, thus driving shaft 106 to the right through the gear 104 without in any Way injuring the operator. If this movement is not su cient to cause spring 116 to drop into notch 112, the operator completes the movement by properly manipulating lever 118.

Wholly apart from the specific mechanism on which this device is used, this cranking mechanism has the special advantage over direct cranking in that the operator' does not have to hold the crank onto the end of shaft 100 against the spring tending to throw it ofi', a labor which is always required in conventional cranking.

, If a special frame replacing frame 32 were applied over the entire end of the engine frame 20, the load strains of the device would pass through the top portion, as well as the lower portion, of the special frame 32, and this upper strain would pass around the engine cylinders-always located but not shown in theA upper portion of thel frame -aud produce a deleterious binding effeet upon` the pistons there operating in conventional manner. It is therefore for this reason alone, as Well as others, necessary thatthe frame 32 shall curve downward as described and attach only `to the bottom portion of the engine frame 20. Under these conditions, it is necessary to reinforce the joint between the frames 20 and 32 by a truss construction. This is accomplished by providing on thel under side of the special frame 32 a depending lug 134 in alignment with a depending lug 136 on the bottom of the frame 20 and connecting the two by a truss rod or rods 138, adjustable at one or both ends by suitable nuts 140-142. By

the use of this truss construction, the joint atl the bolts 38 is one of compression only with consequent practical elimination of the chance of separation of the parts at that joint thus preventing oil and water leaks as well as holding the parts in proximity to each other.

In the complete operation of converting an ordinary commercial tractor of the type described into a three. wheel roller, the operator irst removes the steering and cranking mechanism of the comu'iercial machine` disconnects the bottom ot the radiator from the engine passage 98 and removes the cap for the gears Il4-It` llc thereupon places the 32 with the front. roller 52 in the position shown. attaches the truss rod or rods 138, applies the bolts 38, connects the pipe 94 to the bottom of the radiator 28. makes the coupling 82 and installs the new steering mechanism described. The device is then ready for operation in. the manner which is obvious in view of the previous description.

Special attention is called to the following points:

Between the rear axle 14 and the special frame 32, there is no frame construction other than the engine case 20, a feature which reduces the initial cost of the device to a minimum. The special frame 32 encloses the sides of the radiator and protects the cranking mechanism but is, as shown in Figure 2, open in front so as not to obstruct tlre passage of air to the radiator proper. The frame 32 carries not only the front wheel but the smoke stack, the principal parts of the steering mechanism and the vanking mechanism all in compact forni.

.adapted for ready sale, shipment and application as a unit. to tractors of commerce.

'lhe drawings presuppose the existence of an engine, usually an internal combustion engine, within the case 20, operatively connected to the rear axle 14, to propel the ntire machine; but, as it does not enter directlv into the invention claimed, neither the details of the engine nor its control devices normally in reach of the operator at seat 18 are shown.

Having what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine of the class described, a

/pair of spaced rear rollers, a front roller in advance of the rear rollers, an engine mechanism for propelling the machine, having a case sustained by the rear rollers and extending toward the front. roller, a separate frame secured to the front portion ot t-he engine case, operatively connected to the front roller, the frame being hollow adjacent to the engine case, an engine crank shaft in the case with its end projecting inside the frame, and means operable from the side of the frame for manually turning the crank shaft.

2. In a mach-ine of the class described, a pair ofspacedear rollers, a front roller in advance oftherefar rollers, an engine mechanism for propelling the machine, having a case sustained by the rear rollers and extending toward the front roller, a separate frame secured to the front portion of the engine case, operatively connected to the front roller, the frame heilig hollow adjacent to the engine case, an engine crank shaft in the case with its end projecting inside the frame, detachable means operable from the side of the frame for manually turning the crank shaft. and means also operatable from the same point for connecting and disconnecting the turning means and crank shaft.

thus described our invention,`

lli() 3. In cmbination with an engine case havin a shaft to be cranked projecting vthere rom, a radiator adjacent thereto and a manifold exhaust; a roller supported hollow frame secured to the en ine case, enclosing and protecting the radiate/i* but obstructing the crank shaft, a stack carried by the frame, means connecting the manifold exhaust to the stack, and means outside the frame, out of line with the crank shaft, for manually turning said shaft.

4. A machine of the character described comprising an engine having a standard portion removed therefrom, a pair of rear rollers, a front steering roller and means for supporting said engine from said rollers including a casting secured at one end to the engine in lieu of the removed portion thereof and having its other end connected to the steering roller.

5. Means for converting a tractor of the type employing an engine as the frame of the same into a road roller comprising a trian ular casting complementary to a standar portion of said engine, means carried by said casting for cranking said engine at one side of the casting, a steering roller, and means for connecting said roller to said castmg.

6. Means for converting a tractor of the type employing an engine as the frame of the same into a road roller comprising a casting complementary to a standard portion of said engine, said casting serving to support and protect the radiator of the engine without substantially obstructing the passage of air thereto, a steering roller, and

means for connecting said roller to said casting. i

7. Means for converting a tractor of the type employing an engine as l'he frame of the same into a road roller comprising mechanism complementary to a standard portion of said engine fory removable connection with the latter, a steering roller, means for connecting said roller to said casting, and adjustable means for connecting said mechanism to said engine. i

8. "Means for converting a tractor of the type employing an engine as the frame of the same into a road roller comprising a casting complementary to a standard poi'- tion of said engine for connection with the latter, a steering roller, means for connecting said roller to said casting, and a truss rod for connecting portions of said casting and engine and relieving stress on the di,-V

rect connection between the engine and cast/- ing.

9. Means for converting a tractor of the type employing an engine as the frame of t ie same into a road roller comprising a triangular casting complementary to a standard portion of said engine for connection with the latter, a steering roller, means for connecting said roller to said casting, a

toothed sector ysecured to the upper end of said last named means, and means engaging `said sector fo'i turning said steering roller.

In witness whereof, We have hereunto subscribed our names.

WILLIAM T. BEATTY. FRANK s. DAVIS. 

